Power driven window cleaner



June 9, 1936. A H. voN LITTROW ET A1. 2,043,637

POWER DRIVEN WINDOW CLEANER www M `lune 9, 1936. H. voN LITTROW ET AL 2,043,637

` POWER DRIVEN WINDOW CLEANER Y Filed Feb. 2:5, 195s 2 sheets-sheet 2 `Zzzfez 25205.'- m mma 5 7 Mr M @www Patented June 9, 1936 1 s narran, sii-Ares i m ffffamasar A POWER DRIVEN WINDO'WVCLEANERk `Hans von LittrowChemnitz, and Franzilitten-irl,ann` Y, i

Zehl,twiesbadenfiebrich-on-theRhine,"Gerr l Applcanoarebrayles, 193s, serial No. 657,950

` r-`rInllalwlla February 25, 1932 f i A e Claims( (o1.` 15a-25e) a i The known oscillating lvwindow-cleaners or wipers used with trains, trams, motor-cars or fthe like for removing ice, snow or frost `from thawindoW-panes which are frequently,coveredwthere- 5 with on both sides are, to accomplishftheir purpose, made to fit both sides andl in` such arnanner that the boxes `containing the cleaners` are arf; ranged to be adjustable in ,an axial direction. In this connection there are used cleaner-boxes,

l which in a known manner containboth rubber wiping elements and cutting teeth, the latter 'be-l ing resiliently mounted on a -rubber rod. The action of these cleaners or wipers is such that when a small pressure is exerted onV the ,cleanerl box only the rubber wiping elementsywillfb'ear against the window-panes, whereas by` a stronger pressure the `elastically `mounted `teeth also uwill be pressed on both sides against the pane; Said cleaner-boxes maybe pressedwith any desired 2o force against the pane without` any bendingac-` tion beingexerted on the `latter solglong as the pressure on both sides is equal. `These boxes will always vrest equally rrnly against the pane and will `also, during theirl oscillation make movements in an axial direction resulting, fromthe fact that the panes, as is very often theicase, vwill not-.be seated exactlyvertically butobliquelyto the axle of the cleaner, and also fromthe fact` that the the hand of the driver, because the removal oiioe,

40 requires the user to exert alstrong pressureonthe teeth of the cleaner-boxes. `Now tomovei said cleaners or wipers by, compressed air, vacuum steam or electric current, generally alreadylat thel drivers disposal on practically` all locomotives,

electric cars and heavy motor-cars for braking purposes, will mean greater easefor the driver,

as theV latter, not only when the windows are cov-,

ered with ice, but also in caseof snow and rain,;

will have a` clear and freeview of ,thetrackand the signals without being` in any way distracted by` having to clean the windows by hand,fwhichxad vantage will ofcourse also be in favorofihe security of service.

As a driving means any desired motor having a to and fro movement caribeV used. As, however,

the axle of the' cleaner or wipermustyas above stated-havesJ free. play in` anaxial direction, the meansror. ,transmitting thefpower; to said axle must lbe `arranged to lpermit i a longitudinal displacementfI s. il n lSince;when the "movementvof the wipers-or cleaners .takes place'by hand, the .touchof the driver `willeiect the necessary axiallmovements,` inycaseswhere the cleaners are power-driven the transmission of l ,the power to the: lwiper-boxes must be adaptedfto take place with` a `similarly sensitive side-displacement. `In :this case it'will not be sufficient to arrange the'wiper-arms, yieldingly on an s axle without` anytaxiai` movability, because` then the wiper-boxesf-for instanceii' the window-pane is seated inan oblique orstrongly bent position-, would-on that side of` the pane, on which the yielding arrnhappensto` beimder a comparatively small tension,` only lier very softly against the pane,iso that the-teeth1would .pa-ss over the ice vwithout, removing the same, whereas on theotherside, on which the yielding arm hap-` pens to beunder greater tensionnthe wiper-box would press so-hardagainst thelpanefxthat the teeth would catch hold of too much7 ice `and thus be `apt `tostiok in` the same and .notfuliillltheir scraping `duty. `Furthermore with` such an ar` rangement both sides ofthe window-panewould alternately` be. subjected rto bending by thepres surefof the `yielding arms, which, inorder to clean properly,v wouldthave to `loelnr1ade very` strong. Consequently the axle itself must` be arranged to undergo an axialdisplacement in relation: tothe pane,in order that the lwiper-boxes, firmly pressed against the fpane Vdurngthe removalof ice, are soto. say` guided by the pane itself.V

This is-obtainedaccording tothe present in-j vention by Vmeans arranged tomove thecleaner `or thatportion ofthe same which receivesthe Vdriv-` ing power,` and transformsrsaid power,V into the swinging movementV ofl they window-cleaner,v approximately vertically to the plane of movement of the Wiper members `Inovingtof and fro.

Onthe. annexeddrawings there` are shown by` way of example two modesof constructioniconftainingmthe means ,A -for y. obtaining this purpose,V whereinV for driving powera machine, having two rigidly connected pistons `moving toY and fro i is,l employed.

Fig. `la-and`llrshowone mode `of construction, 'f

Y rod r', being made to form a toothed rod and besection, and Fig. 2b a section on the line A-B of Fig. 2a.

To the ground-plate a there are fixed the cylinder b and the bearing c, the latter passing through the wall of the vehicle and receiving the shaft d. On the one end of the latter there is xed the outer cleaner-arm e, carrying the cleaner-box f. On the other end the shaft d is made to form a quadrangular pin g, on which the sleeve h, being on its inner side correspondingly shapedto form a quadrangular hole, can be positioned. To said sleeve h there is fixed the innervcleaner-arm i, carrying the cleaner-box lc. Onthe outer end of the sleeve h there is iirmly mounted a wingscrew i by means of the shoulder 'm thereof, which protrudes into a hollow thread out into the quadrangular part g. In the position shown-which is the lposition of rest-the wing-screw l is entirely turned to the left, in which case the quadrangular part g abuts against the plate a, and the sleeve it with the lever o against the cylinder; the cleaner-boxes f and lc are in their extreme position and stand oi the pane n, which greatly helps to save them. If only rain-drops, snow or any moist deposit is to be removed from the glass the wing-screw is turned so much towards the right that the rubber wipers of the cleaner-boxes slightly touch the glass n. If, however, hard snowor ice-'crusts are to be removed, the wingscrew l is still further turned towards the right, until also the cutting teeth contained in the cleanerlboxes Will come to lie against the glass. On the sleeve h there is seated opposite to the cleaner arm z' a lever o protruding into the cylinder bv through an opening in the middle of the cylinder-wall. Within the cylinderthe two pistons p and q, rigidly xed to each other by the rods T and s, are moved up and down by the driving uid being alternately fed above the piston' p and below the piston q. By means of the guiding pieces t and u inserted vat opposite sides of the cylinder, the rods 1" ands are protected against turning. In the rods r and s a pin o is mounted passing through the slot "w of the lever ov for actuating said lever. Y

Said lever o is narrower than the length of the pin 'c to an' extent necessary for obtaining a free longitudinal movement of the axle of the cleaner. If now before starting the cleaner, the wing-screw Z is turned towards the right until the cleanerboxes f and lc rest against the pane n, the quadrangular part g" will correspondingly Withdraw from the plate d, against which it abuts during the position of rest, and the'shaft d will be able to easily follow all movements, which the cleanerboxes f and lc make inan axial direction', owing to their even and tight nt to the widow-pane, which follows the distortions of the vehicle-body and sometimes is even in an oblique-position, whereas said shaft will be turned in either direction by the lever o, sliding axially on the bolt o within the slot w.

In the modified form shown in Figs'. 2a and 2b, the same arrangement of the axle, the sleeve and the cleaner is madeuse of. The working pistons p and q' are in this-v case connected byfonly one ing ensured by the guiding pieces t' and u' against an undesired turning motion, in order toalsoin this construction facilitate the axial sliding movement of the teeth on each other and to avoid a jamming, which would take place on a wear of the teeth. On the sleeve h there is arranged a toothed segment o coacting with the toothedy rod tight position against the window-pane.

What we claim is: 1. A window cleaner comprising window cleaning meansl on each side of the window, driving means for oscillating said cleaning means, manually operable adjusting means to move the window cleaning means towards or away from the window, power transmitting means between said driving means and said adjusting means, said power transmitting means, said adjusting means, and said window cleaning means being capable of free movement with respect to said driving means in a direction approximately vertical to the plane of the window.

. In a power operated window ci-eaner, driv- L ing means, a shaft driven thereby freely movable axially in avdirectionapproximately vertical to the plane of the window, and window cleaning means on each side of the window mounted on L.,

said shaft and adjustable in a direction approximately vertical to the window with respect to each other.

3. In a power operated widow cleaner, driving means, Ywindow cleaning means on each side of the window adjustable in a direction approximately vertical to the window, and connecting meansbetween said driving means and said cleaning means freely movabie in a direction approximately vertical to the plane of the window.

4. In a power operated window cleaner, driving means, a' bearing, a shaft sliding therethrough and passing through the plane of the window, a plurality of window cleaning means on opposite sides of the window xed against rotation with respect to one another and carried on saidY shaft, means for adjusting said cieaning means in a direction approximately vertical to the piane of the window and connecting means movable in a like direction between said driving means and said cleaning means.

5. In a power operated window cleaner, a driven reciprocating rack, a bearing, a shaft sliding therethrough and passing through the plane of the window, a plurality of window cleaning means on opposite sides of the window fixed against rotation with respect to one another and carried on said shaft, means for adjusting said cleaning means in a direction approximately vertical to the plane of the window, and a segment movable in a like direction fixed against rotation with respect to said shaft and cooperatively engaged with said reciprocating rack.

d 6. I n-a window cleaner, a cylinder containing twovpistons, spaced bars connecting said pistons, a hollow rotatable and longitudinally slidable member, a cleaning means carried thereby, a slot,- ted arm also carried thereby, a pin connecting s aid bars and passing through the slot in said arm, the distance between said bars being appreciably greater than said thickness of the arm on the hollow member.

HANS voN LITTROW. FRANZ' HERMANN ZEHL.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,043,657. June 9, 1956.

HANS Von LITTROW, ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in 'the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows; Page 2, second column, line 34, claim 5, for the word "widow" read window; and line '71,claim 6, for "said" read the; and same line, for "the" first occurrence read said;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 11th day of August, A. D. 1956,

Henry Van Arsdale (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

